GIBRALTAR

GIBRALTAR

After an extensive facelift, Gibraltar is starting to lose its military image to become an increasingly popular destination.

Gibraltar’s £7m investment in its infrastructure and facilities is already reaping tourism rewards, according to the tourist board’s UK director Albert Poggio.

While the 270,000 UKvisitor overnights spent on the Rock last year is expected to remain static, day trippers from Spain are up 8% this year and cruise ship arrivals have also increased.

“With the on-going expenditure, word has spread that Gibraltar has become a much more attractive place to visit,” said Poggio. “This has been reflected in the healthy increase in day visitors.”

Improvements made to Casemates Square – home of the former army barracks – have helped in particular, making the square a focal point of the new showpiece piazza.

Art and craft shops and restaurants are planned for the piazza, near the entrance to the pedestrianised old town. The Gibraltar Museum has been relocated here in what was formerly the medical centre.

The next stage of Gibraltar’s improvement plan involves the refurbishing of Catalan Bay. Buildings will be renovated with government grants and improvements are planned for the road and beach.

A plan is also being considered to link the beaches on the eastern side, from East Beach to the Caleta Hotel. “It’s an exciting project that’s down to engineering considerations,” said Poggio.

Following renovations at the Caleta Hotel, formerly the Caleta Palace, and an independent regrading of Gibraltar’s hotels, the property will become the Rock’s third four-star hotel. Plans are back on track to give the colony its first five-star property, following the sale of the building that was earmarked for the Hyatt Regency five years ago.

Poggio said: “There’s a definite need for a five-star hotel. Gibraltar is enjoying a mini-boom, with more commercial and tourist traffic and people must be offered a choice.”

Other key developments include Gibraltar’s cruise terminal which, over the past two years, has brought a dramatic increase in the number of cruise ship calls.

From 135 cruise calls in 1998, the number nearly doubled to 267 last year and a further increase is projected for this year, thanks to the inclusion of the Rock on Renaissance’s Barcelona-Lisbon itineraries.

Gibraltar’s marketing budget for this year, unchanged at £850,000, is continuing to fund Project 250, the tourist board’s educational initiative under which 250 key agents a year receive product training and are taken on a two-day Gibraltar fam trip.

“We still have to improve the perception of Gibraltar and make the trade aware of what we have to offer. It’s essential we get away from the image of being a military garrison,” said Poggio. “Fifteen years ago, Gibraltar’s GDP was 75% related to Ministry of Defence spending – that figure is now 4% and declining. The character of Gibraltar has seen a big change in recent years and wholly for the better. We’ve now moved to a commercially structured economy in which tourism plays a big part.”

Operators to Gibraltar are unanimous in their approval of the colony’s efforts. Cadogan managing director Gary David said: “The hotels are looking fabulous. The whole place has been given a huge facelift.”

Premier Holidays short-break contracts manager Andrew Hillyard, just back from Gibraltar, said: “I hadn’t been for five years and was staggered by the number of visitors there.

“There’s very much a collective approach to tourism in Gibraltar now, with everybody getting together to make it work. Gibraltar has realised just what it can get from tourism and has made big improvements.”

Crystal Cities product manager Alan Betty added: “In the past, the reality didn’t match people’s expectations of Gibraltar. There has been a big investment in the hotel infrastructure and the overall product is a lot better now.”

Paying off: extensive investment in Gibraltar is making the resort a more appealing place for tourists to visit